EMB-330 · Embedded Linux & BSP · Practitioner
Multimedia & GStreamer Pipelines — full syllabus
Build and debug media pipelines on embedded Linux: capture, decode, process and display — and know where the frames actually go.
Duration3 full days in person · 6 half-days online
Cohortmax 14 in person · 20 online
Pricefrom US$1,750 live online · SAR 9,000 in person in Riyadh; local pricing in every city
Delivery35% principles · 20% guided investigation · 45% engineering studio
Who this course is for
Embedded engineers building camera, video and streaming products who need media pipelines that behave in the field, not just on a bench.
Prerequisites
- Working C and Linux systems experience
- Familiarity with the Linux device model
- No prior GStreamer experience required
Course outline
Day 1 — GStreamer architecture
- Elements, pads, capabilities and the negotiation that decides what is possible
- Pipelines, bins, states and the message bus
- Building a first pipeline and reading its errors properly
- Dynamic reconfiguration: changing a pipeline while it is running
Day 2 — Hardware acceleration and buffers
- Hardware decode and encode paths: V4L2, VA-API and vendor-specific stacks
- Cameras into GStreamer: v4l2src, formats, and caps that actually match
- Buffer sharing without copies: DMABUF and dma-buf heaps
- Measuring where the CPU is going, and whether a copy is happening
Day 3 — Synchronisation, latency and production
- Clocks, base time and synchronising live streams
- Latency: measuring it end to end and removing it where it matters
- Profiling dropped frames: pipeline latency, decoder load, thermal throttling
- Production concerns: systemd units, watchdogs, recovery and logging
Hands-on labs
- Lab: build a camera-to-display pipeline and prove the caps negotiation end to end
- Lab: replace a software decode with the hardware path and measure CPU and latency
- Lab: pass frames between two processes with DMABUF and confirm zero copies
- Lab: measure glass-to-display latency with a millisecond timer and an LED
- Lab: deliberately drop frames under thermal load and find the true cause from the pipeline logs
Capstone project
Build a production media pipeline for a real device: capture, hardware-accelerated processing and output, with zero-copy buffers, measured end-to-end latency, and a recovery path that survives a camera disappearing and coming back.
What you leave with
- GStreamer pipelines you can build and debug without guessing at caps
- Hardware acceleration paths and the measurement that proves they work
- Zero-copy buffer sharing between processes and devices
- A latency and dropped-frame methodology that survives production
Upcoming dates
| Dates | Where | Seats | Early bird | Regular | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 Nov – 29 Nov 20266 half-days | Gulf bandLive online · 14:00–18:00 GST | 16 of 20 | US$1,580until 23 Oct | ||
| 23 Nov – 30 Nov 20266 half-days | Europe bandLive online · 14:00–18:00 CET | 5 of 20 | US$1,580until 24 Oct | ||
| 30 Nov – 7 Dec 20266 half-days | Americas bandLive online · 13:00–17:00 ET | 10 of 20 | US$1,580until 31 Oct | ||
| 8 Nov – 10 Nov 20263 full days | RiyadhIn person · KAFD Conference Centre | 6 of 14 | — | SAR 9,000 | |
| 8 Nov – 10 Nov 20263 full days | Kuwait CityIn person · Al Hamra Tower | 11 of 14 | — | USD 2,400 | |
| 15 Nov – 17 Nov 20263 full days | MuscatIn person · Knowledge Oasis Muscat | 6 of 14 | US$2,160until 16 Oct | ||
| 23 Nov – 25 Nov 20263 full days | OttawaIn person · Kanata North Tech Park | 11 of 14 | CAD 2,930until 24 Oct | ||
| 23 Nov – 25 Nov 20263 full days | TorontoIn person · MaRS Discovery District | 6 of 14 | CAD 2,930until 24 Oct | ||
| 30 Nov – 2 Dec 20263 full days | LondonIn person · Shoreditch Works | 11 of 14 | GBP 1,680until 31 Oct | ||
| 7 Dec – 9 Dec 20263 full days | BerlinIn person · Factory Görlitzer Park | 6 of 14 | EUR 1,990until 7 Nov |
Book a seat, or bring this course to your team
Seats can be reserved online; private delivery runs on-site or live online, adapted to your stack.
Questions about fit or prerequisites? Email [email protected]. To save this syllabus, print this page to PDF from your browser.